Mar22 19 by Daniel Pearson

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MARCH 22, 2019

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THE FIRST 40 YEARS ARE ALWAYS THE HARDEST

The Tale of the Old Guardrail

PARENTHOOD by David W. Proefrock, PhD Your 13 year-old daughter has begun hiding food in her room. You discover unopened cans of soup, candy bars, and bags of chips in her closet. She has free access to food in your home and is neither overweight nor underweight. There seem to be no significant emotional or behavioral problems. What should you do?

A. Tell her to return the food to the kitchen where it belongs. Check her room from time to time, but don’t worry too much about it. B. Talk with her about the food. Be sure to listen to any concerns she might have and identify any problems you and she can work on together. C. Hoarding food is a sign of a serious emotional problem. Take her to a mental health professional for an evaluation. D. Take the food out of her closet and return it to the kitchen. Let her know that there will be consequences if you find food in her room again. If you answered: A. This is not normal adolescent behavior and it’s not a good idea to ignore it. You should try to get her to talk with you about it and then decide what is best to do. B. This is the best response to start with, but if you don’t identify a problem you and she can deal with, you should take her to a professional. C. You may well end up doing this, but you should start by talking with her about it yourself first. D. Communication is a much better path than threats in this situation. The key in this situation is that hoarding food can be a symptom of serious underlying emotional problems. It should be neither ignored nor punished. You should talk with her and determine whether the help of a professional is needed. + Dr. Proefrock is a local clinical and forensic psychologist

MARCH 22, 2019

nce upon a time an old man lived up in the hills on a lonely dirt road. Every Friday he climbed into his battered pickup truck and drove down the mountain to a twisting paved road he took into town to get supplies. On one such trip, he noticed a highway crew doing maintenance on a guardrail guarding one of the road’s many hairpin curves. Beyond the guardrail was a deep ravine that descended to a rushing river far below. He drove on past, down into the valley and the town and its one small store where he bought his week’s supplies. On the trip back up the mountain to his cabin, the old man saw the highway crew again. As he approached, it looked like the crew was packed up, about to drive away. The old man decided to pull over and ask, and he eased his old pickup to a stop next to the highway truck. The old man gestured and the driver rolled his window down. “Can I help you?” “Looks like you’re about to leave,” said the old man. “Yes sir, we’re done,” said the highway worker. “But you took down the guardrail,” the old man said. “That old thing? Yeah. It served its purpose. Back in the day they tell me at least one car would go off that cliff every week. Killed I don’t know how many people — or so they say. All that was way before my time.” “I remember those days well,” said the old man. “So why did you take down the guardrail?” “We don’t need it any more,” said the highway worker. “Nobody has gone over that

cliff for 20 years. Maybe more. Plus, hitting it damaged cars.” While the old man pondered the logic of that remark, the driver put his big truck in gear, yelled “Have a nice day!” and drove off. While this tale might seem fanciful and fictitious, it isn’t. Does this sound familiar? “People haven’t died of measles in decades. I don’t know a single person who has ever even had measles, let alone had a serious case of it.” One person sees no clear evidence that a guardrail is necessary, another sees no point in a vaccine against a disease no one has. Correction: a disease no one had. Measles was officially declared eradicated in the United States decades ago. That was then. There are currently hundreds of active cases across the country for this highly communicable, formerly-eradicated disease. America is one of 98 countries where measles is exploding at rates not seen for decades, not since the measles vaccine was introduced in the early 1960s (see related article, page 4). And “exploding” is not an overly dramatic word. The Philippines recorded 2,428 measles cases in 2017, then 15,599 cases in 2018. There have already been 12,736

cases there this year, with 203 deaths. Closer to the U.S., Brazil reported 10,262 measles cases in 2018. During all of 2017 the total there was zero. The worst outbreak in the world at the moment (but stand by for updates) is happening in Ukraine, where 4,782 cases in 2017 were followed by 35,120 reported cases in 2018. That total will be broken this year: it’s only March and Ukraine has already reported more than 24,000 cases since Jan. 1. Like air pollution, disease outbreaks blow across state and national borders with ease. What is behind all of these collapses in health progress in place after place around the globe? According to UNICEF, it’s belief in the malicious false rumor that vaccines are dangerous. UNICEF says 21.1 million deaths have been prevented by just the measles vaccine since 2000 alone. It’s irrational to believe administering the vaccine universally would cause more deaths than that, but that seems to be the implication of the vocal and vehement anti-vaxx crowd. They want the guardrail removed regardless of what “experts” say. Why? See the reason on page 3. +

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MARCH 22, 2019

Why otherwise intelligent people reject vaccines That headline isn’t meant as an insult to scientists? “anti-vaxxers,” the label given to people who Enter the Dunning-Kruger effect, a thought view with great suspicion the consensus of the pattern named in a 1999 paper by our two psyworld’s medical and pharmaceutical establishchologists. The Dunning-Kruger effect could ment supporting the safety of be summarized by many a favaccines. It doesn’t matter what To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is mous quote. It was around long the malady of ignorance. the reputation of an organizabefore 1999. (See box, left.) — A. Bronson Alcott tion is or what credentials an To paint a word picture of the expert has. If they are pro-vacDunning-Kruger effect, imagine Real knowledge is to know the extent the way ordinary people — your cine, then anti-vaxxers categorically reject their views in favor of one’s ignorance. Uncle Ralph, for instance — play — Confucius of their own experts. It doesn’t ping-pong. They get pretty good matter if those experts are actors at it. Then even better. They beat or actresses or housewives from The fool doth think he is wise, but the everybody in the family and the wise man knows himself to be a fool. neighborhood, and even at the Peoria who blog on Facebook. — Shakespeare They trump anyone and everyneighborhood clubhouse. Grantone who happens to be part of ed, some of these people bounce Ignorance more frequently begets the medical establishment. the ball a foot over the net, but confidence than does knowledge. A disinterested, neutral within their circle of players — Charles Darwin observer would find it extreme- they’re undefeated. ly curious that someone with But picture one of these un+ no medical training would be defeated neighborhood players believed over a physician or medical research— your Uncle Ralph will do — winning a trip er with decades of experience and a sterling to Japan to compete in an international pingglobal reputation, especially in matters of pong tournament. potentially life-and-death importance. Have you seen how those Asian champions Well, the Medical Examiner has found that play ping-pong? It’s on another level entirely. neutral observer. Two of them, in fact. Uncle Ralph, who thought he was so good and Their names are David Dunning and Justin who had been undefeated, would not last two Kruger. They are psychologists who study minutes there. what is called cognitive bias. That term That is the Dunning-Kruger effect in acdescribes a deviation from rational judgment tion. It applies where poor performers have where an individual builds his own version no frame of reference against which to judge of reality. We all have our own individualized their poor performance. It applies, as Alcott versions of reality to one degree or another. puts it above, where a dumb person, precisely Cognitive biases can, however, “lead to what because he is dumb, has no idea how dumb is broadly called irrationality.” he really is. Cognitive bias is similar to “confirmation This happens to us all. It is nothing to be bias,” a term which describes the practice of ashamed of. No one can know everything. As looking only for information that confirms Will Rogers said, “Everybody is ignorant, only beliefs or preconceived notions we hold dear on different subjects.” while carefully ignoring information which It explains why people who have virtualdoesn’t support our ideas. ly no medical training or education want to In the contentious world of vaccine safety, challenge those with decades of specialized both sides believe the other to be guilty of medical training and experience. confirmation bias. It can be a challenge to self-diagnose Dun But being as neutral as humanly possible, ning-Kruger. “A little learning is a dangerous how can a B-list actor or a Facebook moms thing,” said Alexander Pope. 2019’s top idiom group or a Pinterest blogger possibly be suggests a wise course in response: “Stay in believed over dozens of experienced medical your lane, bro.” +

WHAT ARE “EMPTY CALORIES”?

Unfortunately, sometimes empty calories are delivered by foods that people may list as their favorite treats: candy bars, chips, donuts, soft drinks and various other junk foods. There is no doubt that our bodies need calories. That’s the fuel we run on. But empty calories, to keep the fuel analogy going, are like filling a car with gasoline and driving off with no oil in the crankcase and no air in the tires. You’re not going to get far. Imagine two people taking their lunch break, one who has a candy bar and a cola, the other a salad with various crunchy fresh fruits and vegetables. Let’s further assume that the salad as built has about 300 calories, and the coke and candy bar also deliver about the same number of calories. No two collections of 300 calories could be more different. One boils down to two main ingredients: refined sugar and saturated fat. The other offers a wealth of vitamins and minerals, protein, healthy fats, fiber and more. Sources of empty calories are everywhere: in desserts, beverages, baked goods and more. For example, one fruit drink might be essentially sugar and water, or is real fruit juice diluted with water and high fructose corn syrup. It delivers empty calories. By contrast, 100% natural fruit juice with no added sugar can offer calories for fuel along with vitamins and fiber. Many breads and baked products are made with so-called enriched flour. Sounds good, right? Start with flour, the staff of life’s #1 ingredient, and then enrich it even more. It would be great if that’s what enriched flour was, but it’s not quite that nutritious. To return to our automotive analogies, imagine a car that is stripped by thieves who remove the radio/CD player/bluetooth, the air conditioning, the doors and glass, even the seating. Then someone welds a folding chair behind the steering wheel and calls the car “enhanced” or “enriched.” That describes “enriched” flour: lots of good stuff removed and a few things put back using inferior replacements. What’s left is another example of empty calories. +

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MARCH 22, 2019

AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

#87 IN A SERIES

Who is this? ON THE ROAD TO BETTER HEALTH A PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE Editor’s note: Augusta writer Marcia Ribble, Ph.D., is a retired English and creative writing professor who offers her unique perspective as a patient. Contact her at marciaribble@hotmail.com

omeone could make the argument that this man’s anonymity is almost a crime. It isn’t, but it is definitely a crying shame. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader said of this man upon his death in 2005, “Almost no one knew about him, saw him on television, or read about him in newspapers or magazines. His anonymity in comparison with Madonna, Michael Jackson, Jose Canseco, or an assortment of grade B actors, says something about our society’s and the media’s concepts of celebrity, much less of the heroic.” Let’s dispense with the suspense here and now. Our profile is about Maurice Hilleman (1919-2005), a microbiologist who is credited with developing more vaccines (40+) than anyone else, and thus with saving more lives than any other medical scientist of the 20th century, if not in all of human history. Of the 14 vaccines currently recommended as routine in the Western world, Hilleman developed eight: against measles, mumps, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chickenpox, meningitis, pneumonia and H. influenzae. He developed the MMR vaccine in 1971, combining what had previously been three separate vaccines (and kids, that was three separate shots, too). Biomedical researcher Robert Gallo, the scientist who discovered the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), said of Hilleman, “If I had to name a person who has done more for the benefit of human health with less recognition than anyone else, it would be Maurice Hilleman.” Even the most effusive praise of Hilleman might be insufficient when considering the diseases he attacked with his arsenal of vaccines. In the case of measles alone, one estimate is that the disease killed some 200 million people worldwide between roughly 1855 and 2005. The Journal of Pathology estimated that 7 to 8 million children died from measles annually prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine. Of course, being a vaccine creator puts Dr. Hilleman’s legacy directly in the cross-hairs of the seemingly unkillable (that’s a word, right?) controversy over vaccine safety. The link between vaccines and various horrible side effects has been established as either non-existent or very near zero, and reputable health organizations estimate that tens of millions of lives have been saved just this century from the measles vaccine alone. Even so, the controversy still thrives (more about that on pages 2 and 3). In fact, anti-vaccination campaigner and HIV/AIDS denier Stefan Lanka of Germany issued a challenge in 2011 claiming that no one could scientifically prove that measles is a real disease. In Lanka’s view, measles is a psychosomatic disease, one that is all “in the mind,” and there is no such thing as the measles virus. He offered 100,000 euros to anyone who could disprove his claims. German physician David Bardens accepted the challenge and offered “overwhelming” scientific evidence disproving Lanka’s claims. Lanka refused to acknowledge the evidence presented, so Bardens took Lanka to court and won, then won Lanka’s appeal of the verdict. Both courts ordered Lanka to pay. Hilleman received a stream of awards during his career, including the National Medal of Science (the United States’ highest scientific honor), and the lifetime achievement award from the World Health Organization. +

by Marcia Ribble One aspect of health for all of us is the ability to figure out what is genuine and what is a scam. As seniors continue to age we become increasingly vulnerable to scams of many kinds. One of the most potent is the seemingly innocuous !!!Enter to win ONE MILLION DOLLARS (no purchase necessary to win)!!! Well, it sounds great, doesn’t it? And WOW, what a million dollars would mean to me and my family? And voila! They’ve got you! You sit there dreaming about a new car to replace your old beater, about a trip you’ve always wanted to take, about paying off your house and your college loans and your medical bills, about putting your grandkids through college, about that old dream of a cottage on the lake or the ocean with the boat at your dock and dreamy sunrises and sunsets and you are hooked like a fish that has swallowed the bait. As you’re dreaming of all these things, a little voice in the back of your mind is telling you if you don’t buy something, your number will be dropped and someone else will win. Of course, they tell you “no purchase necessary to win,” but surely there’s a better chance to win if you do buy. It begins slowly, with a single entry envelope. Then the cascade increases! You are ramped up as you make qualifying purchases, until you are buying things you don’t need, can’t give away, and will never use. The grooming is as seductive and as compromising as the grooming done by pimps looking to increase their stable of hookers, and for seniors, equally costly. Some seniors only gradually realize they have become hooked, while some never come to that realization, continuing to feed

the monstrous, ever-hungry scam that’s bleeding them dry. As is true with all scams, seniors are the most vulnerable group to fall victim to the alluring hook they troll to catch their prey. Why? Because millions of us bought into the American dream that hard work will lead to prosperity. We believed that dream. We worked really hard. We sacrificed for our kids, our communities, our relatives, our friends. We gave of our time, money, and treasure, and now here we are, close to being stone broke, afraid of being elderly and alone, on the streets, dying from a disease that could be conquered if only we had some money. We know we have done what we were told is necessary for success. We know we followed “the rules.” We didn’t break the law. We raised our kids to be good citizens. We took care of our elders. We gave to the poor. We supported the military and the police. And yet, here we are, with the promise unfulfilled, and suddenly the envelope arrives promising to finally fulfill the promise and grant us the financial security we lack. Hook! Set! Fish on the line waiting to be reeled in! And the magic envelopes keep coming, sometimes at the rate of three or four a week, and each asking us to spend $15 and more to make that purchase to guarantee (not really) the dream’s fulfillment. We begin to realize we are being scammed, but the allure is so seductive that it is difficult to resist. Throwing away that envelope is so difficult because we think, what if this is the time my entry will win? This morning I mailed what I hope will be the last time I am one of those fish being caught and scammed out of money I need for more practical, and real, purchases! +

JUST SNAP OUT OF IT! WHICH WILL IT BE? Nobody would dream of telling someone with appendicitis or the flu or cancer to “just snap out of it” and get better. Unfortunately, however, people who experience

depression also get to experience well-meaning (or exasperated) relatives, friends (and sometimes almost total strangers) who offer that kind of “helpful” advice: “Pull yourself together. Shake it off. Splash some cold water in your face or take a hot shower and get yourself together!” Yes, just snap out of it. If only it were that easy. Depression is a complex disease with multiple possible

causes including genetic predisposition, psychological factors like trauma, and environmental factors like pregnancy, prolonged winter darkness, grief, reactions to medications and dozens of other factors. The best thing a person can do for someone with depression is encourage them to talk to their doctor and to support and help them at every opportunity. +

MARCH 22, 2019

AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

Musings of a Distractible Mind

by Augusta physician Rob Lamberts, MD, recovering physician, internet blogger extraordinaire, and TEDx Augusta 2018 speaker. Reach him via Twitter: @doc_rob or via his website: moredistractible.org

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MARCH 22, 2019

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axes. Doing taxes feels like a financial taking their medications, and “reducing rectal exam. I hate doing taxes. Yeah, I stress” in their lives. How can you reduce don’t like getting rectal exams either. stress when you are surrounded by a bunch It’s not that I resent paying the government of medical busy-bodies? The consequence for the fine services they render and the high I see is a bunch of folks who are like my quality of elected officials we have. It’s not accountant: afraid to get care because they the existence of taxes I hate; it’s just doing are waiting for a lecture. Many lie to cover taxes that makes me feel extremely insecure. up their shame, while others just don’t come. Sharing my personal and business finances So what to do about this? We can’t just with my accountant and the government ignore these problems. I’ve had people who makes me feel like a dope. I feel like I’m interpreted my lack of mentioning their stripped naked with all of my flaws exposed. smoking or morbid obesity as me saying it’s This is actually ironic because my OK. accountant is a patient of mine. It is not. But how do we He also, despite my urging, After 20 years, address issues, such as weight, has been slacking on coming smoking, and non-compliance in I know what to see me. “I just haven’t been a way that is patient-centered? almost never works It’s harder to answer that question taking care of myself and feel ashamed,” he told me in an than to answer the opposite: email. “It feels like I’m going to what’s the least patient-centered the principal’s office.” way to address these issues? I know how that feels. I went to the Checklists. principal’s office plenty as a kid. I told him Checklists force healthcare providers to (my accountant, not the principal) that this ask questions and address topics when was exactly how I felt each year during tax they aren’t relevant. They are centered season. So we made a pact: I wouldn’t make on doing the “right” thing for the wrong him feel like an idiot, and he’d return the reason: reimbursement. Under the Checklist favor for me. That should be easy; we are Approach we either lecture our patients both used to seeing other people’s financial/ halfheartedly or we simply lie by checking physical nakedness. the box. I suspect the majority of times it is His feelings about going to the doctor are the latter. Why, after all, should a urologist very common. People often feel insecure and lecture a patient about weight loss other than ashamed. I recently saw a patient with COPD to get a bigger check from the government who bowed her head in shame when she (which is the obvious answer)? So patients confessed she was still smoking. “How stupid get buried in an avalanche of lectures and is that?” she said, “I have COPD and recently handouts telling them what they are doing had pneumonia, yet I still can’t stop using wrong. these things! My kids are always on my case; The solution? I’d be on the talk show I just don’t know why I can’t quit.” circuit right now if I knew an easy way to This tale is true with diabetes, obesity, help people lose weight, quit smoking, or alcohol consumption, and anything else that fight their other personal demons. There seems like it should be easily handled (or at is no easy way. But it helps a lot to have least improved) by lifestyle change. People someone who is fighting with you, not don’t know why they compulsively do bad making you feel foolish. I’ve recently lost things or compulsively avoid doing the right 20 lbs by the magic formula of eating less thing. This is why I often tell patients that and exercising. It’s simple, but it sure as hell one of the best things about being a doctor hasn’t been easy. So the best approach I’ve is that I get to see that everyone else is as found is to sympathize and encourage. I want screwed up as I am. people to tell me about their struggles and This insecurity is the biggest challenge in failures, not hide them. my practice: getting people to change their I’m realizing as I wrap this up that I’m behavior. I have to somehow get people to not coming to some grand conclusion. This pay attention to their health when they’d is not magic. It’s not a secret trick that can rather ignore it, to be taking medications make things easy. Life is a struggle we all when they’d rather not, to be exercising face, and it is best faced with good allies. I when they don’t want to, to lose weight want people to come to me when they need when they love cheeseburgers, and to be help, not run from me fearing judgment and checking their blood sugars when they’d lectures. Somehow, despite the checklist rather not know how high they are. After culture of our healthcare system, we need trying lots of things over the past 20+ years, to keep care away from shame. We gotta the one thing I find almost never works is keep ‘em separated. Yeah, people make bad what is usually done: lecturing the patient. choices, but that doesn’t mean they are bad Everyone gets lectured by friends, doctors, (or stupid) people. In truth, they’re just like co-workers and neighbors about exercise, their doctors and nurses. smoking, their weight, checking their sugars, And, it turns out, their accountants. +

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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER M E D I C I N E

I N

T H E

F I R S T

P E R S O N

Know pain, no gain

remember how it all started. It was 2011. I was dancing in a Zumba class. At the time I was very active and always had been. During one of the dances I noticed my foot started to go numb. That’s when my life changed forever. I woke up in pain and went to bed in pain. But I never really could sleep. “It” had taken that away too. I would stay awake for 32 hours at a time. I went to many doctors. Every visit ended the same way: “I’m sorry but we can’t seem to find what’s causing you so much pain.” I prayed for an answer many times. I just wanted to know what was wrong so maybe I could find some relief. The pain had taken away my activeness, happiness, basically it almost took my life away. Yet I kept going to doctors

The pain was excruciating. because I was determined to beat whatever this was. The last doctor I went to tested me for 18 points on my body to see if they caused me pain. She had to press each one. It was excruciating. I winced. I cried. That’s when she said “You have Fibromyalgia”. I had never heard of this chronic illness until that moment. I immediately did research. There is no cure. You have to live with the pain constantly. Soon after I talked with my primary care doctor. We tried several medicines that are advertised to help with fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, none

of them worked. I became severely depressed. Even though prior to this I had been on anxiety/depression meds, now they seemed to have stopped working. I began to have suicidal thoughts again. I would think, “My husband would be much better off not having to deal with me and my illness.” But that is not what he thought at all. Eventually I had to quit my job. That was another hard thing to do. We needed the double income. I was a dental assistant. I would come home in tears from standing all day and leaning over. I tried to stay active, be a good wife, and take care of my spiritual life too, but inside it felt like I was falling apart bit by bit. Eventually I was placed on different meds that did help with my anxiety and depres-

MARCH 22, 2019 sion more. Because the suicidal thoughts had gone away (for now) I was able to start running. Granted, it was a very slow run, but I still wanted to do something. I lost 25 lbs and was feeling ok. The pain was still constant, but I was learning how to manage it better day by day: finding out what foods triggered a flare-up, how the weather even took a toll on my body. I felt like I had gotten things somewhat under control by spring of 2014. That’s when I was surprised by the unexpected pregnancy of my baby boy. I am definitely thankful every day for this amazing and wonderful surprise, but it took a toll on my body. I immediately came off all of my medicines. I didn’t want anything to interfere with making sure my baby grew healthy. I am a short, petite girl, at the time weighing only 125 lbs. My son, however, was a big boy. At birth he weighed 9.1 lbs. I had to have an emergency c-section with him. That was hard to grasp because I knew it was going to take a toll on my body,

but I wanted him here healthy and happy! He came out pink and crying! It was a wonderful day that I will never forget. But I had to face reality again once we got home from the hospital. It was VERY HARD. I decided to nurse my son. I wanted to be one of the first moms in my family to nurse. But this meant I couldn’t take any of my medicines. I was up every 2 hours tending to him. It was exhausting, which is normal for new moms. It just seemed extra tough because of the chronic illness I had. I had pain now not only from fibromyalgia, but also from the healing C-section incision. There were nights I would just cry to myself. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to handle all of this. I had only been married 2½ years when he was born. I hadn’t even gotten the hang of being a wife with a chronic illness and now I’m a mom! My husband and family helped a lot though. I was determined to never give up. Here we are now4 years after

IT’SYOURTURN!

Please see KNOW PAIN page 10

We’re never too proud to beg. What we’re begging for is Medicine in the First Person stories. With your help, we’d like to make this a feature in every * issue of the Medical Examiner. After all, everybody has a story of something health- or medicine-related, and lots of people have many stories. Send your interesting (or even semi-interesting) stories to the Medical Examiner, PO Box 397, Augusta, GA 30903 or e-mail to Dan@AugustaRx.com. Thanks!

“My leg was broken in three places.”

“This was on my third day in Afghanistan.” “I lost 23 pounds.” “We had triplets.” “He was just two when he died.” “The smoke detector woke me up.” “It took “She saved 48 stitches.” my life.” “I sure learned my lesson.” “The cause was a mystery for a long time.” “The nearest hospital “They took me to the hospital by helicopter. ” “I retired from medicine was 30 miles away.” “I thought, ‘Well, this is it’.” seven years ago.”

“Now THAT hurt!” “OUCH!”

“Turned out it was only indigestion.”

“He doesn’t remember a thing.” “I’m not supposed to be alive.” “It was a terrible tragedy.” “And that’s when I fell.” NOTHING SEEMED “The ambulance crashed.” “It was my first year “At first I thought it was something I ate.” TO HELP, UNTIL... “It seemed like a miracle.” of medical school.”

Everybody has a story. Tell us yours.

Here’s our “No Rules Rules.” We’ll publish your name and city, or keep you anonymous. Your choice. Length? Up to you. Subject? It can be a monumental medical event or just a stubbed toe. It can make us laugh or make us cry. One thing we’re not interested in, however: please, no tirades against a certain doctor or hospital. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

GARDENVARIETY

Ok, I know you see the words vegan and cheesecake together and wonder if the title is a mistake or if I just flipped my lid. Rest assured it is vegan and there is no cheese in the recipe. The magic is in soaking raw cashews overnight and then whipping them up to a smooth, creamy consistency. The bonus to this vegan cheesecake is it’s packed with nutrition, and it’s gluten-free. Cashews are very nutritious and are a powerhouse of proteins and essential minerals including copper, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. Cashews also contain vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin B1, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin E, and vitamin K. They also provide a good source of monounsaturated fat and low amounts of polyunsaturated fats with no harmful cholesterol if consumed appropriately. This blueberry vegan cheesecake recipe is also great because it is a no-bake cheesecake and it’s simple to make. It freezes well, too. Blueberry Vegan Cheesecake

Vegan Cheesecake

Crust Ingredients • 3/4 cup raw pecans • 1/2 cup raw almonds • 1 cup Medjool dates • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • Pinch of Himalayan pink salt • A few teaspoons of water if needed to help blend Cheesecake Ingredients • 2 1/4 cups raw cashews soaked • 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey • 3 scoops with spoon provided in Pyure Organic Stevia • 2 tsp vanilla extract • 1/4 cuplime juice • 1/3 cup coconut oil melted • 1 tsp lime zest plus a little more for garnish • 1 cup blueberries + more for garnish Crust Directions Pulse ingredients in food processor until sticky crumbles form. Add a few teaspoons of water at the end if it needs help sticking. Press crust into a parchment-lined 7” springform pan.

by Gina Dickson. “As a mother of six who beat cancer, I want to share with you what I learned through my journey. I know healing from cancer can take everything a mom has, yet you still want to love and care for your family through the treatments. My blog is a community full of encouragement for moms going through cancer treatments who would like to use a plant-based vegan diet to complement their healing journey. www.thelifegivingkitchen.com

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Cheesecake Directions The night before, soak cashews in a bowl of water. The next day, drain and rinse. Place cashews in food processor and blend for several minutes until smooth. Scrape down food processor sides, add lime juice, 1/4 cup sweetener, stevia, lime zest, vanilla and then blend again until smooth. Add blueberries and drizzle in the melted coconut oil and blend until well combined and has a creamy smooth texture. Taste and add more sweetener, if needed. Scoop cheesecake onto crust, smooth out and then freeze for 30 minutes to chill. Garnish with whole blueberries and lime zest. +

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OK, you’ve entered treatment, maybe even finished it already, and now you’re heading home, a new person. You feel great – better than in years. You’ve eaten a lot for a change, your sleep habits have improved, and you’re ready to tackle the cold, cruel world out there. But wait! Trouble lurks just around the corner. Actually the greatest trouble isn’t outside of yourself but within your own mind! Imagine that! It’s not being around the wrong person, because you are the wrong person! Nobody…repeat, nobody can make you relapse unless you give them permission! So you are the person of interest here. To save yourself a lot of grief, consider these “stinkin thinkin” thoughts you’re probably already courting. • “I satisfied the judge, the job, and my wife…now I’m going to go back to drinking again but this time I’m not going to let it get out of control.” I will promise you in writing, this thought is job security for yours truly. Go to the next 10 self-help speaker meetings and you’ll hear most of them tell how they tried this out and it didn’t work. Believe them. They are telling the truth. And they have the scars to prove it. Do you want the scars too? Interesting, we are more alike than we are different. 99½% of our DNA is alike! The same! It’s the ½% that makes us unique individuals. To think you are unique and different than all the others who’ve gone before you is an illusion in your own mind. Promise. In writing. • “That alcohol got to me… it caused DUIs…now that I’m

MARCH 22, 2019

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN

A monthly series by an Augusta drug treatment professional back in society I’ll switch to the marijuana maintenance program.” Why not? It’s getting more acceptance and less criminal and you can buy it in CBD form everywhere! Like snake oil, it seems to be the cure-all for most maladies! Or as I’ve heard I’ve heard many times, “THC stays in my system too long. I’ll switch to beer since it gets out of my system in an hour!” Research shows that to the brain, “a drug is a drug is a drug.” If one drug gets you, the next one will too. It’s just a matter of time. You see, the synapses in the brain (where the drugs go to have an effect) have a very low IQ. They don’t know how the drug got there, whether it was swallowed in a pill, if it was from a needle, from a suppository (yes, really!), whether it was a liquid or whether it was snorted. It just knows that it got there. It doesn’t know if it came from a “legal” prescription from the drug store or from the hands of a street dealer and furthermore it doesn’t care. It only knows that it got there. • “Now I can go back to life as usual.” Working over-

time or a second job to pay all your back bills. Legal bills. Household bills. Restitution bills. Like springtime pollen, they just keep coming. Catch up, catch up, catch up. Going to a recovery meeting when you can fit it in. Not reading your daily recovery readings like you did in treatment. Not drinking or drugging…just burning the candle at both ends. You’re “cruisin for a bruisin.” Your recovery program is first. In order to maintain sobriety you need (1) accountability and (2) support. The same brain that got you into trouble can’t get you out of trouble. You need other people’s brains… people who’ve stumbled on the path in front of you and come out clean. In the year or so that it’ll take for your brain to get back to “normal” (whatever that is) it is imperative that you sleep well, eat well, socialize well, immerse yourself in recovery activities and groups preferably as your learning curve is steeper there. You are unique. Just don’t be terminally unique, the ultimate sabotage. +

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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER it needs, then excretes any excess through the urine. The body cannot use or store more than what it uses. However, there are some benefits to taking nutrition supplements in some specific cases. Supplements can be helpful when there are increased or altered nutrient requirements due to specific conditions or circumstances that might be difficult to be met solely through the diet. An example of this would be pregnant women needing more folic acid to prevent neural tube defects, or vegans supplementing B12 since it is a vitamin solely found in animal products. Other populations may require additional nutrition from a supplement due to lack of resources or ability to eat specific foods. Examples of this include an older adult having difficulty chewing and getting adequate amounts of foods, or a low-income family unable to afford a variety of foods. To summarize, dietary supplements are intended to supplement an already healthy diet; they should not be a replacement for a meal or a cure-all tablet to be used in lieu of whole food sources. A nutrient or bioactive compound in supplements may not be absorbed as well when compared to obtaining it from actual food sources. Instead of taking a supplement, first consider trying to increase or incorporate whole food sources of whichever vitamin, mineral or compound you need. In addition to vitamins and minerals, whole foods contain other bioactive compounds and fiber that are needed for normal body functions. To determine if you might need a dietary supplement, a local Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist (RDN) can help you in assessing your diet and discussing your options. To find an RDN in our area, go to www.eatright.org/find-anexpert. +

DON’T LICK THE BEATERS Useful food facts from dietetic interns with the Augusta University MS-Dietetic Internship Program

WHAT ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS? by Angie Lee, MS-Dietetic Intern

Dietary supplements are a billion dollar industry. Dietary and nutritional supplements include vitamins, minerals, botanicals, amino acids, enzymes and many other products. A dietary supplement can be defined as “products taken by mouth that contain a dietary ingredient.” Unlike most food and drugs, which are strictly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), dietary supplements have poor oversight and are poorly regulated. Despite this, at least half of the U.S. population continues to take supplements. The FDA leaves it up to the manufacturers to ensure the “identity, purity, strength, and composition” of their products. When it comes to supplements, the FDA’s main role is to assess finished product ingredients and recall products when there are adverse reactions. The FDA does not verify the safety and efficacy of products before going on the market. Manufacturers of dietary supplements do not need to register or get FDA approval for their products prior to selling the supplement. This can lead to a large discrepancy in production of supplements and potential risks in consuming them. The content of the supplements may differ from those shown on the label, and the claims on the packaging are also unverified. Therefore, the

actual amount of nutrient or bioactive compound may be more or less than stated on the label. This poses potential risks of toxicity for certain vitamins. For example, high intake of vitamin A during pregnancy may cause birth defects. Additionally, supplements can potentially contain contaminants such as heavy metals or bacteria due to lack of safety regulation by the FDA.

In one consumer report, the actual content of various supplements were measured and compared to the marketing on their labels. 50 multivitamins were tested and it was found that at least half of the manufacturers understated or overstated the vitamin and mineral content compared to the supplement’s label. For example, one vitamin C supplement contains 500 mg of the vitamin. This is 833% of the daily recommendations for that vitamin. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which means that the body uses what

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Eddie H. Augusta, GA

H H H H H 3/14/2019 I think it’s kind of funny that the humerus is called the funny bone. The humerus is humorous. +

Bart W. Martinez, GA

H H H H H 3/14/2019 Wait a minute. The previous post says the humerus is the funny bone? That’s incorrect. The funny bone is in the elbow. It’s the bone that feels super-weird when you bump it the wrong way. +

Walt S. Aiken, SC

H H H H H 3/15/2019 I was talking to this friend of mine over lunch one day. He kept trying to get information out of me that I didn’t want to share. Finally he said, “Come on man, throw me a bone.” By coincidence, I had at that very moment finished a drumstick (we were at Zaxby’s), so I did what he asked: I threw the bone at him. All I can figure is that as soon as he asked me he changed his mind, because he got mad. I guess it was what they call a bone of contention. +

Dinah N. N Augusta, SC

H H H H H 3/16/2019 I get really offended when people call me fat just because I weigh 320 lbs. For the last time: I am not fat, people! I’m just big-boned. +

Kayla V. Aiken, SC

H H H H H 3/17/2019 My grandmother had us over for dinner last Sunday. She served us on plates she said were “bone china” — and she knows I’m vegan. Why would she do that? I refused to eat. +

David T. Martinez, GA

H H H H H 3/18/2019 My next-door neighbor is new to the area. He said he’s a New Yorker to the bone, but he didn’t say what he was at bone level. Apparently not a New Yorker, though. +

Tiffani G. Martinez, GA

H H H H H 3/18/2019 This friend of mine was caught in a rainstorm and she told me she got soaked to the bone. I thought the skin was supposed to keep us better protected than that. +

Miriam J. N Augusta, SC

H H H H H 3/19/2019 If a person was literally just skin and bones they would be dead, right? I mean, they wouldn’t have a heart, brain, lungs, eyes...anything. How could they survive? +

Joe B. Augusta, GA

H H H H H 3/19/2019 My wife always says she’s bone-tired. As I like to remind her, bones don’t get tired. Only muscles do. Then she’ll always say she works her fingers to the bone. I’ve checked them many times. Not true. She’s just lazy, plain and simple. Lazybones. +

Timothy T. Evans, GA

H H H H H 3/19/2019 Whenever someone says they have a bone to pick with me, I remind them it’s their bone, not mine. I’m not interested in their bones. +

MARCH 22, 2019

KNOW PAIN… from page 6

my son was born. It hasn’t been easy at all. I’m on many medications. Pain meds, sleep meds, anxiety/depression meds etc. Just recently I had to have surgery for a herniated disc bulging into my spinal cord. My arms were going numb constantly and it just increased my fibromyalgia pain. Thankfully the surgery fixed the numbness in my arms but now I am having full numbness in my hands due to tendonitis. I have to wear a hand brace to bed every night and sometimes during the day. When I spoke to my primary care doctor about this, she said she would like to avoid any more surgery if possible. The surgeries I’ve had have exacerbated my fibromyalgia. Not to mention I also have two bulging discs on a nerve in my low back. It seems neverending. But through all of this excruciating pain, the thing that hurts the most is when people don’t believe you, or they don’t think fibromyalgia is real. Just because I wear a smile on my face doesn’t mean I’m not in pain. I just don’t like to burden everyone else with my pain. I already feel like I do not live a normal life for a 30-year-old. I’m constantly getting prescription meds at CVS, I have to go to bed early now just to get some decent sleep because it will take a few hours for me to drift off, I have to take Epsom salt baths regularly, I own massagers for my legs and my back, I hurt after driving just for an hour, I’m burned out at doing the simplest things, and the list goes on and on. Sadly, this is something that will never get better. Barring a miracle, it will only get worse over time. I have a horrible memory now thanks to this illness. It’s referred to as “fibro fog.” I forget so much so I have to write things down in several places just to make sure I don’t forget. I know many other ones out there suffer from this disease and much worse illnesses. I never want pity. I just want people to understand this is a real illness that takes over every aspect of your life whether you like it or not. I could talk hours about this debilitating condition, but instead I try to maintain a positive attitude and keep an active life. Thankfully I have always had such a large, understanding family, especially my husband. Yes, I have off days, but I will not let this illness defeat me.

— by Rachel Matthews Grovetown, Georgia

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MARCH 22, 2019

AIKEN-AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006

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WAIT. YES I DO.

MARCH 22, 2019

11 +

AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

The blog spot — posted by Dyan Hes, M.D., on March 17, 2019 (edited for space)

THE TIDE IS TURNING: A PRO-VACCINE FACEBOOK THREAD! People often say that they can die happy if … Well, I have no intention of dying, but one of my goals in life was achieved recently. Historically, Facebook moms groups have been the bane of existence for many physicians, particularly pediatricians. We are often rated and compared like hotel mattresses. Well, last night one of my friends texted me, “Your practice is getting a lot of love on Facebook.” Now, this I had to see. A local mother had written a post on a Facebook page that she learned there are many unvaccinated children in her New York City-based pediatrician’s office. She was very nervous going there with her child. Followed by that were many pro-vaccine posts recommending our practice. Mothers were praising the fact that we have a zero tolerance policy on vaccines. This is my red line. If you do not trust me about the safety of vaccines, then why should you trust me about any of my medical opinions? I trained for eleven years and have practiced medicine for eighteen years. I love a healthy debate about many subjects, but vaccines save lives, period. There is no debate. As the night went on, more and more pro-vaccine posts were in the feed! Mothers who expressed fear of their infants catching measles in a waiting room, mothers of children with immunodeficiencies, and mothers with immune problems themselves were voicing their fears. This brought tears to my eyes. One must remember that pro-vaccine doctors are facing increasing amounts of online abuse. Recently, antivaxxers in the community have been targeting pro-vaccine physicians who express their views online, in scientific forums, or even in Congress. When naturopath Elias Kass testified about the benefits of vaccines before Congress this February, he suffered a severe backlash online. Fake one-star reviews were posted on Facebook and people were slandering him with lies, trying to destroy his livelihood. In October of 2018, when Dr. Zubin Damania (a.k.a ZDoggMD) interviewed Dr. Paul Offit, a leading vaccine researcher from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, anti-vaxxers tried to break into the studio. They stood outside of the glass and pounded incessantly, disrupting the broadcast and intimidating the doctors. I spent years working in a hospital-based clinic where parents were allowed to refuse or alter the vaccine schedule. This tortured me inside. As a physician, we take an oath to do no harm. Here I was, forced by the medical administration to allow parents to expose their children and our other patients to vaccine-preventable illness and death. I would spend many hours trying to educate parents about vaccine safety, only to have them refuse. Then I would have to document that I did my best to educate them. Guess what: If that unvaccinated child contracted a vaccine-preventable illness, that parent could still sue me. They could state that I did not educate them well enough, despite providing literature and data. Just this week, another study disproved any link between vaccines and autism. This one, from Denmark and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, observed more than 600,000 children for over ten years. There was actually a higher rate of autism and autism spectrum disorders in the nonvaccinated patients. So nine years ago when I opened my practice, I vowed that I would not allow this to happen. My practice grew slowly because of this decision. Parents came in for prenatal visits. When I told them about the vaccine policy, I probably lost 50 percent of these potential clients. I did not

They can refuse and still sue me!

Please see BLOG SPOT page 15

From the Bookshelf As Harriet Washington acknowledges in the epilogue of this thoroughly researched history, the worst abuses of African Americans by the medical profession are mostly distant memories. But as a book that runs 500+ pages attests, there are plenty of those painful memories. Some of them happened right here in Augusta: the book cites Bones in the Basement, another history that documents a dark local page in medicine’s past. Bones tells the story of grave robber Grandison Harris, employed by the Medical College of Georgia in the midto late 1800s to obtain bodies for anatomy classes at the school by robbing fresh graves. Fast forward about a century and construction workers at the Old Medical College on Telfair Street found close to 10,000 individual bones and bone fragments in the building’s basement in 1989. Subsequent research determined many were from Cedar Grove Cemetery, the 40-acre final resting place for slaves established by the city in 1820. Or in some cases, the

temporary resting place until Grandison arrived. It could be argued that the desecration of bodies for the benefit of medical science has yielded benefits we all enjoy. But why did the stolen bodies have to be blacks? As distasteful as grave robbing seems today, it is among the more innocuous examples of “medical apartheid” exposed in Washington’s history. To refresh our collective memory, the book’s title takes its name from South Africa’s one-time policy of segregation

and discrimination based on race. It included the falselynamed “separate but equal” principle later borrowed in this country. We often think of it in schools, but many inferior but “equal” hospitals were reserved for treating African Americans. Sadly, the pages of American history (and this book) are strewn with research, treatments and experiments upon poor and illiterate black patients that were of extremely questionable value. They are reminiscent of the cruel and inhuman medical procedures perpetrated upon Jews in Nazi Germany. The words of Robert Jackson, chief U.S. prosecutor during the Nuremberg war crimes trail, apply to both eras: They were “wrongs...so calculated, so malignant and so devastating that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored.” + Medical Apartheid, The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington; 528 pages, published in January 2008 by Anchor Books

Research News New aspirin guidelines New guidelines announced this week by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology reverse the longheld recommendation of a daily low-dose aspirin for preventing or lowering the risk of stroke and heart attacks. While it still may be in the cards for older highrisk patients, doctors have gotten better at using other, more effective strategies for reducing patient risk that don’t carry with them the side effects that aspirin does (such as a higher risk for internal bleeding). The recommendations don’t mean aspirin therapy is uniformly bad, just that preventive care should be individualized for each patient based on their situation. Rather than the former blanket endorsement of daily aspirin, doctors now say lowering cholesterol, smoking cessation and overall

lifestyle changes are more effective directions for care than aspirin therapy. Patients should discuss their individual case with their doctor.

words, caused by various circadian body changes as well as late night behaviors such as snacking on junk foods.

Here’s a short poem: Stay up late Gain some weight. At least that’s what researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, say about research which found a correlation between sleep habits and body mass index (BMI). Studying more than 3,300 teens and young adults over a 15 year period, the research team noted an average BMI increase of 2.1 points for every hour of sleep “consistently lost” during each 5-year period of the study. The study (from late in 2015) did not conclusively identify how late night and weight gain are connected, but scientists believe the reasons are both metabolic and behavioral; in other

The heart is sour on sugar A new study of more than 110,000 U.S. health professionals by Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public released this week has revealed that the more sugary beverages people drink, the greater their risk of premature death, particularly from cardiovascular disease, and to a lesser extent, cancer. Even after adjusting the data to allow for major diet and lifestyle factors, researchers found that drinking one or two sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) per day was associated with a 14 percent higher risk of death from any cause; drinking two or more per day was linked to a 21 percent higher risk. The study found the risks to be higher among women than men. +

+ 12

AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

The Examiners +

Problems on the home front.

Are you okay? You seem troubled lately.

by Dan Pearson

My doctor told me It’s none of my business, not to touch anything alcoholic. but what happened?

My husband and I Sorry to hear that. are separating. I hope it’s nothing too serious. I’m moving out.

EXAMINER CROSSWORD

PUZZLE

NUMBER BY

20 21 ACROSS 1. Back of the neck 23 5. Before (in poetry) 26 27 28 29 10. Skin 14. Black (in poetry) 34 35 36 15. Standard for comparison 37 38 16. Fencing sword 17. Cried 40 41 42 18. Regions 45 19. Mend with rows of stitches 48 20. Wide awake at 3 a.m. 51 52 53 54 55 22. Singer _____ Waters 23. Torn clothing 59 60 24. Of the ear 62 63 26. Printer’s measures 29. Long-tailed rodent 65 66 30. Wink or blink, technically by Daniel R. Pearson © 2019 All rights reserved. 34. Lesser and Greater festivals after Ramadan DOWN 36. Dead 1. On-the-hour radio program 37. Sicilian volcano 2. First murder victim 38. Partially opened flower 3. Avenue in medical district 39. Male deer 4. Word on many doors 40. An act of rescinding 5. Dental filling 43. Camambert, for one 6. Land covered with trees 45. Town between Edgefield 7. Lyric poems and Aiken 8. Argued 46. Type of flour, milk, 9. Ernie, annual Augusta sauce, or bean visitor 47. Blood cell type 10. Reducing enzyme 48. Mr. Sarazen 11. Apple product 49. Prefix for -scopy. 12. Dweeb 51. Letter opener (with Dear) 13. Repudiate 54. Public slob 59. Son of Isaac and Rebekah 21. Medic intro 22. Medical guinea pigs? 60. Prefix meaning tissue 25. Twitch 61. Departed 26. Pulitzer Prize-winning 62. TV journalist Lisa film critic 63. Lindsey Vonn is one 27. Dura_____ 64. Mine entrance 28. From that time 65. Dave Brubeck’s ___ Five 31. Garden flower 66. Plague, beleaguer 32. Tantalize 67. Seines

WORDS

22 24

39 43

46 49

47 50 56 61

MARCH 22, 2019

THE MYSTERY WORD The Mystery Word for this issue: HATHEL

Simply unscramble the letters, then begin exploring our ads. When you find the correctly spelled word hidden in one of our ads — enter at AugustaRx.com

Click on “MYSTERY WORD” • DEADLINE TO ENTER: NOON, APRIL 1, 2019

We’ll announce the winner in our next issue!

E X A M I N E R

S U D O K U

DIRECTIONS: Every line, vertical and horizontal, and all nine 9-square boxes must each contain the numbers 1 though 9. Solution on page 14.

33. Double-______, as a sword 35. Basic meteorology instrument 36. Written demand for payment 38. Resembling skeletal parts 41. Brain ___ 42. Electrically charged atom 43. Twist 44. Augusta’s ______ Park 46. Couch for two or more 50. What a donor might donate 51. Liquefy 52. Largest continent 53. Unpleasantly moist 55. Egyptian goddess 56. Portend 57. Group viewed as one 58. Obtains 60. Initials abbreviating a Nirvana hit

Solution p. 14

— Benjamin Franklin

DIRECTIONS: Recreate a timeless nugget of wisdom by using the letters in each vertical column to fill the boxes above them. Once any letter is used, cross it out in the lower half of the puzzle. Letters may be used only once. Black squares indicate spaces between words, and words may extend onto a second line. Solution on page 14.

Use the letters provided at bottom to create words to solve the puzzle above. All the listed letters following #1 are the first letters of the various words; the letters following #2 are the second letters of each word, and so on. Try solving words with letter clues or numbers with minimal choices listed. A sample is shown. Solution on page 14.

O 1 2 3 4 A 1 2 3

P 1 2 3 4 5 6 E G 1 2 3 4 1 2 3

C 1 2 3 4 5 6 U 1 2 3 4 5

R 5

I 4

O 1 2

T 1 2

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5

1 . PA I R T T O S S C W U G 2 . A T T H H P E R O N W E H 3 . D O O T S M E E I N E E 4 . E E N N N PA R I 5 . S T T M L R 6 . S E E

SAMPLE:

1. ILB 2. SLO 3. VI 4. NE 5. D =

L 1

O 2

V 3

E 4

I 1

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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

THEBESTMEDICINE ha... ha...

talked with a homeless man today and asked him how he ended up this way. “I haven’t always been like this,” he began. “Even right up to last week, I still had it all. A roof over my head, plenty to eat, clothes always washed and pressed. I had HDTV and internet, and I went to the gym and the library almost every day. “I was working on my MBA on-line. I had no bills and no debt. I even had full medical coverage. ” “What happened?” I asked. “Drugs? Alcohol? Divorce?” “Oh no, nothing like that,” he said with a sigh. “I was granted parole.” Moe: Why was Cinderella kicked off the women’s basketball team? Joe: You tell me. Moe: She ran away from the ball. Moe: Yesterday I saw a policeman wearing a pilot’s uniform. Joe: That’s odd. Moe: That’s what I thought at first. Then I realized he’s probably a plane clothes cop.

Moe: How is your new job at the guillotine factory? Joe: Great. I’ll be heading over there soon. This guy was taking his dog for a walk when the dog decided he was bored. “Tell me a joke,” the dog said, looking up at his owner. “Don’t be ridiculous,” the man said. “You’re a dog.” “Please. This walk is boring.” “You’re saying a dog is even going to get a joke?” asked the man. “Just try me. Come on, please?” “Oh ok,” said the man with resignation. “Knock knock,” he began. “Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof!” interrupted the dog. Moe: Did you see the news that scientists were actually able to reverse time? Joe: Yeah, I saw something about that. How did they do it, anyway? Moe: As I understand it, it was a simple “e-m-i-t.” Moe: What kind of cereal is addicted to working out? Joe: I would guess Shredded Wheat. Moe: How can you tell if someone is vegan? Joe: They’ll tell you. Moe: How is your grandmother enjoying her new stairlift? Joe: She said it’s driving her up the wall. +

Why subscribe to theMEDICALEXAMINER? What do you mean? Staring at my phone all day has had no Effect on ME!

Because try as they might, no one can stare at their phone all day.

The

Dear Advice Doctor, At my job last week I witnessed someone stealing. I was so shocked that I didn’t say a thing right then, but then the situation got even worse. Someone else was accused of the theft, an innocent person, and was fired on the spot. The guilty person allowed all of this to happen, and as for me, I didn’t speak up. I didn’t say one word. I am wracked by guilt and the desire to make up for my silence. What do you suggest? — The Sounds of Silence Dear Silence, Thank you for offering me the chance to address this issue, obviously a very important question to you. But believe it or not, this situation affects as many as 2 million people in this country every year. So many people are seeking answers to the same question you are. Technically, the inability to speak is known as aphasia. It describes not only the inability to formulate words and sentences, but also the inability to comprehend language from others, whether spoken or written. Brain injury of some kind is always the trigger for aphasia. The injury could come from accident or trauma, dementia, a brain tumor, or a stroke. Aphasia can come in degrees. You were unable to say a single word; someone else might start leaving out small words when they speak. Instead of saying, “I’ll be going to the store,” for instance, they might say, “I go store.” Some people with a certain type of aphasia can read with relatively good comprehension, but can’t vocalize. Whatever the cause, medical intervention is usually an automatic part of the equation. What needs to be added is speech and language therapy to minimize the duration and severity of the aphasia to the extent possible. Sometimes people recover, but often full communication abilities never return. In such cases it’s important for family members to learn to communicate with the person slowly, calmly and as simply as possible. If the person can speak, patiently give them time to respond. I hope this answers your question. + Do you have a question for The Advice Doctor about life, love, personal relationships, career, raising children, or any other important topic? Send it to News@AugustaRx.com. Replies will be provided only in the Examiner.

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By popular demand we’re making at-cost subscriptions available for the convenience of our readers. If you live beyond the Aiken-Augusta area, or miss issues between doctor’s appointments — don’t you hate it when that happens? — we’ll command your mail carrier to bring every issue to your house! NAME ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP Choose ____ six months for $20; or ____ one year for $36. Mail this completed form with payment to Augusta Medical Examiner, PO Box 397, Augusta GA 30903-0397

BEFORE READING AFTER READING

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THE MYSTERY SOLVED The Mystery Word in our last issue was: LUMBAR

...cleverly hidden by the garage door in the p. 3 ad for OVERHEAD DOOR

THE WINNER: MARLENE TURNER! Want to find your name here next time? If it is, we’ll send you some cool swag from our goodie bag. The new Mystery Word is on page 12. Start looking!

MARCH 22, 2019

AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER THE PUZZLE SOLVED N E W S

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SEE PAGE 12

The Celebrated TheSUDOKUsolution MYSTERY WORD CONTEST

...wherein we hide (with fiendish cleverness) a simple word. All you have to do is unscramble the word (found on page 12), then find it concealed within one of our ads. Click in to the contest link at www.AugustaRx.com and enter. If we pick you in our random drawing of correct entries, you’ll score our goodie package! SEVEN SIMPLE RULES: 1. Unscramble and find the designated word hidden within one of the ads in this issue. 2. Visit the Reader Contests page at www.AugustaRx.com. 3. Tell us what you found and where you found it. 4. If you’re right and you’re the one we pick at random, you win. (Winners within the past six months are ineligible.) 5. Prizes awarded to winners may vary from issue to issue. Limited sizes are available for shirt prize. 6. A photo ID may be required to claim some prizes. 7. Other entrants may win a lesser prize at the sole discretion of the publisher. 8. Deadline to enter is shown on page 12.

Love to stare at your phone? Visit issuu.com/ medicalexaminer and stare away.

QuotatioN QUOTATION PUZZLE SOLUTION “Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.” — Benjamin Franklin

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MARCH 22, 2019

BLOG SPOT… from page 11

AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

care. Contrary to myths, pediatricians do not make money off vaccines. Honestly, we may even lose money on them because we have to buy them ahead of time and hope the patients come to get them. Recently, we had a family that transferred from another practice where the vaccine schedule was staggered. When I explained the science behind our policy, the parents thanked me. The mother said, “I am a business owner, and I like that you make a promise to your clients and stick to it.” Education does work. Of course, I have encountered the defectors, the science deniers. I’ve even had one mother tell me, “Hold on, I just put a poll on my Facebook moms group to see if we should vaccinate today.” I did not wait for the answer. If you trust this group over your physician, we are not the right doctors for you. What I said is this, “If vaccines were unsafe why would

I do this? I would lose more sleep than you because every night I would have to worry that something terrible may happen to your child. That would be a terrible business model for me. I do this because I love children and I want them to live to adulthood because of vaccines.” I will end with some Facebook quotes that are music to my ears: “All the kids are vaccinated, and they have a great team.” “Agree. That (non-vaccinating) would be a deal-breaker for my family,” and many more quotes supporting other like-minded doctors who vaccinate their patients. It is going to take time and many more epidemics to undo all the anti-vax nonsense out there, but we physicians can do it if we stand firm together in support of science and health. +

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Please thank them with your business and patronage.

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY Dyan Hes is a pediatrician.

ALLERGY

Tesneem K. Chaudhary, MD Allergy & Asthma Center 3685 Wheeler Road, Suite 101 Augusta 30909 706-868-8555

AMBULANCE SERVICE AMBULANCE • STRETCHER • WHEELCHAIR

706-863-9800

CHIROPRACTIC Evans Chiropractic Health Center Dr. William M. Rice 108 SRP Drive, Suite A 706-860-4001 www.evanschiro.net

COUNSELING Resolution Counseling Professionals 3633 Wheeler Rd, Suite 365 Augusta 30909 706-432-6866 www.visitrcp.com

YOUR LISTING HERE Your Practice And up to four additional lines of your choosing and, if desired, your logo. Keep your contact information in this convenient place seen by tens of thousands of patients every month. Literally! Call (706) 860-5455 for all the details

IN-HOME CARE

DENTISTRY

Dr. Judson S. Hickey 2315-B Central Ave Augusta 30904 PRACTICE CLOSED 706-739-0071

Floss ‘em or lose ‘em!

Jason H. Lee, DMD 116 Davis Road Augusta 30907 706-860-4048 Steven L. Wilson, DMD Family Dentistry 4059 Columbia Road Martinez 30907 706-863-9445

Zena Home Care Personal Care|Skilled Nursing|Companion 706-426-5967 www.zenahomecare.com

LONG TERM CARE WOODY MERRY www.woodymerry.com Long-Term Care Planning I CAN HELP! (706) 733-3190 • 733-5525 (fax)

Medical Center West Pharmacy 465 North Belair Road Evans 30809 Georgia Dermatology & 706-854-2424 Skin Cancer Center 2283 Wrightsboro Rd. (at Johns Road) www.medicalcenterwestpharmacy.com Augusta 30904 Parks Pharmacy 706-733-3373 SKIN CANCER CENTER 437 Georgia Ave. ARKS www.GaDerm.com HARMACY N. Augusta 29841 803-279-7450 www.parkspharmacy.com Karen L. Carter, MD 1303 D’Antignac St, Suite 2100 Augusta 30901 706-396-0600 www.augustadevelopmentalspecialists.com

DRUG REHAB Steppingstones to Recovery 2610 Commons Blvd. Augusta 30909 706-733-1935

Sleep Institute of Augusta Bashir Chaudhary, MD 3685 Wheeler Rd, Suite 101 Augusta 30909 706-868-8555

TRANSPORTATION Caring Man in a Van Wheelchair-Stretcher Transports • Serving Augusta Metro 855-342-1566 www.CaringManinaVan.com

VEIN CARE

PHARMACY

DERMATOLOGY

DEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRICS

SLEEP MEDICINE

Vein Specialists of Augusta G. Lionel Zumbro, Jr., MD, FACS, RVT, RPVI 501 Blackburn Dr, Martinez 30907 706-854-8340 www.VeinsAugusta.com

YOUR LISTING HERE Augusta Area Healthcare Provider Prices from less than $100 for six months CALL 706.860.5455 TODAY!

If you would like your medical practice listed in the Professional Directory, call the Medical Examiner at 706.860.5455

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MARCH 22, 2019

SKIN CANCER CENTER Quality Patient Care Since 1969

board certified dermatologist

Lauren Ploch, M.D.

LAUREN PLOCH, MD • JASON ARNOLD, MD JOHNATHAN CHAPPELL, MD CAROLINE WELLS, PA-C • CHRIS THOMPSON, PA-C

Introducing board certified dermatologist & MOHS surgeon

JASON ARNOLD, M.D.

706-733-3373 • GaDerm.com • 2283 Wrightsboro Rd (at Johns Road) MOHS SURGERY • SKIN EXAMS • MOLE REMOVAL • ACNE • PSORIASIS • RASHES • WARTS

LYCEUM SERIES HARRY JACOBS CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY

Silkroad Ensemble

Photo: Liz Linder

HE ALTH

Saturday, March 30, 2019, 7:30 p.m. Maxwell Theatre Silkroad creates music that engages diference, sparking radical cultural collaboration and passion-driven learning to build a more hopeful world.

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 1968 – 1969 / 2018 – 2019

RESERVED SEATING

Tickets: General public: ................................................................................... $30.00 AU Alumni & Military: ................................................................... $25.00 Children and students: ..................................................................... $15.00 AU and EGSC faculty and staff: .................................................... $15.00 AU and EGSC students with valid JagCard: .............................. FREE AU/EGSC students may order a guest ticket for $15

Purchase tickets at augusta.universitytickets.com or by calling the Maxwell Theatre Box Office at (706) 667-4100.